A Preview of Things To Come

I have been busy putting together a new product line - here are a few little 'taste teasers' for you!!

JOURNEY TO THE MAGIC CARPET

My post this week is going to break away from the normal 'business'.

This week has been a long week of endings. It has been one of joyful celebrations and really sad goodbyes because some extended family members are saying good-bye - for this week is the beginning of our solo flight on our 'Magic Carpet'.

How did we get here? Well it all began.......

Monday June 13, 2005 - In the early evening hours, I heard my second daughter's cry for the very first time. It was a healthy cry - one that brought a huge sigh of relief and tears to my eyes. (My first daughter had died in the hospital) Over the days and weeks that ensued this cry would mark the beginning of motherhood for me and the long forgotten - and sometimes mis-sung Mother Goose song....."Oh Dear, What can the Matter be - Oh Dear......"

In the beginning for me it was so very hard to tell my little one's cries apart. They all sounded the same.....LOUD, DEMANDING and PAINFUL. I tried everything and nothing felt like it was working - nothing 'Normal' anyways....The only time she would really sleep for any length of time was when she was laying on me or by me on a pillow.

It seemed to be that the only time she was contented was when she was in motion or in my arms.......long stroller walks and car rides were the ticket. But when they stopped - she would awake. I used to joke that my little one was born with a sense for velocity!!! When the speed in the car lessened she would wake up to wail. Driving between stop lights really was an emotional roller coaster! She would cry when I stopped and stop when I started again. Rocking chairs were a no, no and I quickly developed a five point jiggle!! Comical relief when I look back now :D The five point jiggle consisted of swinging side to side none to lightly mind you! Arms bouncing up and down all the while one hand patting her bottom gently but not too gently and singing! Foot tapping and dancing sometimes where optional but always greatly encouraged by her. Thankfully when my little one grew a bit - a swing that was low to the ground operated on batteries became the ticket along with an aquarium bouncy seat that vibrated - with soft bubbling water noises - this tired mother's arms finally got a wee bit of a rest.

The happy motherhood picture that I had before I gave birth had disappeared and I was left wondering..."Where on EARTH did I go wrong - what am I NOT doing?!!" By the time my little peanut was about 3 months old and onward. She was finally able to sleep on her own - (for daytime naps only) - I would tip-toe in to check on her and tiptoe back to melt into the coach - only to frantically run back in five minutes later to her screaming like someone had just pinched her or cut off her leg!! It would take 30 minutes to an hour to calm her down and in my mother heart I knew that something was just not right.

She HATED being on her tummy and try as she might she couldn't sit up on her own...this one has abs of steel for certain!!! Laying on her back she would do these mini crunches raising her head to try and look across the room. Although she did love to be propped up or placed in her swing so she could survey her kingdom!! Any attempts by dad to pick her up were met with intense screaming and must have been a horrendous feeling for him for her to be so unhappy in his arms.

Those around me thought and often told me that I was just a first time mom - who needed to relax and let her "work it out". But those cries would only become more intense and loud when I attempted to do so. It just didn't feel right to my mother heart to withhold the comfort that I knew I could instantly give. By the time my little one was 8 months old - I knew I needed help.

A little before 1 yrs of age - we started receiving Early Intervention therapy for 'lil peanut' and was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Integration Disorder as it is now called with mild Hypotonia or Hypertonia(low muscle tone) and mild developmental delays.

New things started popping up as well - loud noises, blenders, vacuums, garbage disposals and other 'startling' types noises especially a knock on the door would send her into a screaming, frightened fit that would take 20 minutes or more to calm her. Certain groups of people were NOT tolerated and I had a permanent leach!! (Or so I thought!)

With various therapies - it didn't seem to take right away and I felt those words coming back that maybe - just maybe it was all just me. Until we met our first occupational therapist 'Cindy'. Suddenly things started to make sense and the great black exercise ball was introduced. Although it was meant for something entirely different - the therapy ball quickly became my best and dearest friend :D Therapy balls or exercise balls are used to help roll and gently bounce the child on to help them get acquainted with body awareness and to develop various muscle control. Although my lil one didn't tolerate that at all - she did love it when I would get on the ball and bounce with her in my arms. From there on out until she was almost two - to get her to sleep at night - she and I would climb onto this monstrous black ball and I would start to sing lullabies if I didn't know the words I made them up!! I would bounce on it until she fell asleep - usually between 45 minutes to 2 hours after starting to bounce. Getting off was quite the challenge - but we did it and it worked wonders.....both for her and me!! I now have legs of steel! :D

Sitting up finally kicked in about a year and wow was she ever proud of herself. I began watching another little guy and after several months of hellish "boot camp" between my little one's needs and getting acquainted with another bright, but very different and very peaceful little guy...my little one finally had a playmate. They are the best of buds today and become highly upset when they can't give hugs and kisses to each other at the end of the day. They are also devilishly cute cohorts in getting into all sorts of mischief!! :D Little guy cried the other day all the way home cause he didn't get to hug his "ina"

Still highly frustrated about not being able to get her body to do what her intensely brilliant mind wanted to do - we slowly but surely progressed!! Eventually speech therapy kicked in and new tools were introduced that she was able to learn and use once her 'fear factor' was abated her level of frustration dropped again. Boy was she proud of herself!! :D

We were introduced to a new Occupational Therapist and after awhile things started again to blossom and improve. Her severe 'stranger anxiety' was still in high gear and I felt liked I was doomed to having a permanent leg growth!!! I couldn't be but an arms length away from her at any one time.

About this time I was introduced to a powerful yet soul stirring movie "The Secret" which changed my life completely. Giving me a new way to view the world, my life and everything in it. Being my true self - I went to researching and learning everything I could about this movie - the "Teachers" and the message of "You can have, be, do ANYTHING you want." And in this research is where I came across Ho'oponopono the ancient Hawaiian way to heal anything in your life. It wasn't really until Christmas of this last year when I bought and read the book "Zero Limits" by Joe Vitale that things in my life really began to change.

In the second half of lil ones 2nd year of life - I started my own business. Not being able to work a 'traditional' out of the home job because of my little one's needs I began looking for alternative ways to help support my family. I had been working with another person in their 'craft business' - and being my true self I quickly learned and started playing around with my own creations......Bath and Body - I didn't do the candle part because I couldn't be that involved. After a few months the business re-organized and there wasn't a place for my products anymore - so......I started my own!! With the previous business and office management type skills that I had acquired through the years along with my 10+ years of studying of herbs, alternative therapies and such - I felt confident in doing so.

Boy have I grown - right along side my lil one! :D The one thing that I have constantly been amazed at in watching my little one grow is her PERSEVERANCE! With her challenges it has been sometimes extremely painful to watch her fail and try again - but she does so with a smile on her face most times and when not - we work through the tears and try again. She always wants to try again! What a lesson for me!!

I can never again complain when something goes awry in my life because when I start to feel down and like giving up the picture of my little one trying to sit or stand or ride a little tricycle, or a myriad of things that has been extremely difficult for her enters my head and I remember......TRY AGAIN.

So here we are the last day of therapy before we take flight on our own. Everyone is so confident and proud of how much she and I have grown. How much better we are at handling the challenges that come our way. The tools and tricks that we have learned, the steps we have taken have all woven together to create a magic carpet that we can now ride on. And we are sad because they have become a part of our family.

But even with this magic carpet under us - I know there will be difficult days ahead. Days when wind turbulents will hit us and give us a bumpy ride. But the two things I know are this......

One door has closed - another one has already opened (Hippo Therapy or Horse Therapy) and more doors will open when we find them. The Universe has time and time again provided for me just when I needed it the most - the only difference is now my eyes are open to that fact and I am GRATEFUL!!

And The ONE thing that will always bring us back to this magic carpet starts with........

I LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday - Sweet 1!! Thank You for coming into my life and teaching me how sweet life can be even with challenges! May you always be the shining light I know you are. I am so honored that you choose me to be your Mother.

I Love You
I am so Sorry
Please Forgive Me
Thank YOU
God Bless

THIS JUST IN.........

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What's Your Sigh? - Beauty Secret of the Month

This last month I had the pleasure of being introduced to a new friend referred by someone who I wrote about last month Aimee Rousseau.

Suzanne Burns - is a dedicated practitioner of Ho'oponopono, an ancient Hawaiian Healing Method of bringing more love into your life by being 100% responsible. She is a jewelery designer extra-ordinaire who was inspired to create a "shortcut" - a beautiful, easy and effortless way for your to achieve this process. - Joe Vitale.

She is also the Owner and Designer of Reflect Youth and Reflect NuSkin.

Her works were recently advertised in Richard Branson's Virgin America's Press Release and she has been interviewed in nationally syndicated radio show and featured in several best selling books, such as Zero Limits, Inspired Marketing, and soon to be released..........Green Sex. She has compassion for animals and supports various charities such as The Animal Rescue Site and The ASPCA


In getting to know Suzanne I was reminded and remembered why I started my business and I am grateful to her for her kind words and helping me to 'remember'. I have stepped away from my normal style of writing this month's Beauty Secret to bring you the 'interview' style of getting to know Suzanne Burns. I am absolutely thrilled to bring you her message and I am honored to have her in this month's newsletter. So here we go!!

Hello again Suzanne,

I was back at your site Intentional Treasures this morning browsing around. I just am drawn to the playfulness of some of your jewelry descriptions.

I'm so happy to hear that. You're the first person who has told me so. :-) So thank you!

Monday I was making an order for a customer and I was using Ho'oponopono as I made my lotion - so I will be interested to hear the outcome :D

Yes, me too!

1. How long have you been doing Intentional Treasures?

Since July 2007

2. Can you tell us briefly about the moment you knew that Intentional Treasures was to be built?

It really was a natural and subtle progression of events that took place. I was attending a workshop that I helped plan and organize for Joe Vitale (featured teacher in the hit movie "The Secret" (www.whatisthesecret.tv).
The name of the event was: Beyond Manifestation (beyondmanifestation.com).
Joe started the event by sharing some compelling stories with our group, that had just recently happened to him. He told everyone about his new favorite technique he learned on how we can overcome obstacles. The Eraser Technique, is a cleaning method that the ancient Hawaiian philosophy of Ho'oponopono teaches. (More about Ho'oponopono can be
found at: www.ZeroLimits.info)

While he was talking, I immediately felt inspired to create a beautiful cleaning eraser wand with Swarovski crystals. Not knowing how I was going to go about doing this, I simply put in my request to the Universe to assist me with my desire to create something magical. Several months later I met an artist who said she could create this item for me and she did! I have been an inventor full of ideas all my life but this is the very first product that went from my heart to being manifested in 3-D! I couldn't believe it! The fact that I can have an idea and end up with a finished product based on thought alone, tickles me pink and I've gone on to create and design entire lines of products since then and the ideas just keep on coming! I've never had so much fun creating before!

3. Why is Intentional Treasures your soul work?

Because it was completely INSPIRED. I didn't plan on this or know that it was around the corner! In the beginning, I was only thinking about creating a cleaning wand and little did I know that one thing would lead to another and I would end up with a very fitting name and an entire website filled with wonderful things that would move and inspire me and every one else! :-)

4. What process works well for you to balance all your jobs?

I live 100% in the moment. I ONLY focus on the task at hand. I do not think about all of my various businesses (currently I have 4), combined with everything that I am responsible for in my personal life. I find that when we breathe, relax, trust and let go, everything gets done! Truly!

And another tip....love yourself enough to ask for help and delegate....every chance you get!
When you ask with love, you'll find that people give way beyond what was originally requested. It's a beautiful process.

5. What Inspired Thought can you leave with us today?

Breathe love into everything you do. My favorite question I ask myself at the end of the day is: "Are you satisfied?" It doesn't matter how much stuff you got done on your To-Do list that day -- the most important thing is the emotion of joy and satisfaction you carry with you in every moment. Considering that life is nothing more than a series of moments, don't you owe it to yourself to live
in this moment?

I have been given such an amazing opportunity to speak to hundreds of people per day. I often hear stories from people who are unhappy and are looking to find ways that they can go from being broke to abundant. They claim that they have tried everything....read every book, tried several businesses, started new jobs, or new relationships, etc. and yet, still, nothing works. They are still struggling and unhappy.

Based on my own personal journey and experience in life, I have discovered that one of the Secrets of Life is to face the things that cause you to sigh. That's right, whatever you sigh about, write it down. Why? Because we are so used to carrying our baggage around with us that we don't realize just how heavy our burdens are! We don't even realize that there are certain parts of our life that we are completely unsatisfied with and we've learned to adapt to the situation, instead of mastering it!

Writing down what you're sighing about helps you to SEE everything that is causing the energetic blocks in your life. It helps you to see what is in your way so you can start pecking away at your sigh list (5 minutes at a time is all it takes - truly!) and before you know it, the "task" is done and off your list!

Do you even know what it means when the body releases a sigh? Our kidneys store our sadness and when we sigh, it is the body's way of trying to release this excess energy of sadness that has built up. So maybe you have things that you feel are impossible to overcome. Go ahead and write that down too (because it's also important for you to see and appreciate where your own limiting beliefs are that hold you back) -- for nothing is impossible! You might be feeling overwhelmed that you have 60 pounds to lose,or whatever.

Have you ever lost a single pound before? In case you have, the good news is that you already know how to do it! If you can do it once, you can do it 60 more times and before you know it, you can scratch that sigh off your list!

I know what is going on in your mind....."Hey Suzanne, it's not as easy as you think to lose weight!" I agree. That is exactly the problem. THINKING. Can I let you in on another one of life's secrets? I heard an author once say that we are always just one thought away from feeling good again. Feeling good begins in the mind.

One of my greatest secrets of success is to allow yourself to temporarily "forget" what your desires are. Plant as many seeds around you as you can and then let nature step in and do its thing. I love to take all the ideas I get and scatter the seeds about, so to speak. I don't worry "how" the ideas will come about, I simply trust that they will (and they DO!) all in their own good time. So, what would happen if you were to allow yourslef the ability to temporarily "forget" that you had to lose weight, or quit smoking or something else?

The reason why losing weight is hard is because we are thinking about it all the time! We're counting calories,thinking about what we can eat for dinner later, counting the total number of snacks and fat grams. We've had, deciding whether today is a cardio day or a weight lifting day, etc.......

But what if.....what if we did it a little differently? What if we accept the fact that everything we've done up 'til now either isn't working or it's been hard and we allow ourselves the space to do things differently? What if we only stepped on the scale once a month and in the meantime we decided to LOVE ourselves and love life now? What if we were to toss all of our plans out the window and do something practically unheard of, such as inspired eating? Inspired eating?? What's that you ask? My dear Goddess friend, Mathes Jones wrote a fantastic book on the subject called: The No Struggle Plan (www.nostruggleplan.com). It's a wonderful read and I encourage you to check it out!

So what does inspired eating look like? What if we drink our water, eat our healthy foods and snacks out of want to rather than have to? What if we take our dogs or our kids to the park for a refreshing and brisk walk, daily, only to soon find out that these wonderful new habits supports our body in the most rejuvenating ways ever? When we don't obsess about something, we keep the energy channels open and flowing smoothly and that's when REAL change starts to take place. Not only will you see changes with physical issues but with your relationships, money, etc.

See how easy life can be? You can have anything and everything you want. BUT you have to be willing to work first and play later. Take care of your business and face the things that cause you grief.

Be gentle with yourself and take your time. Do it with love and do it with courage and then the most important part, BE SURE to celebrate your efforts with play! A little bit of work followed by a little bit of play goes a long, long way!

Suzanne - THANK you so much for allowing this opportunity!!!

THANK YOU MISS LAURA -- Right back at you! Was SOoooooooooooooo much FUN!

Written and reproduced with permission.


So there you have it my friends - this month's Beauty Secret and Newsletter from Ka Nani Essentials

Until next month - "Feel GREAT About Your Beauty - Naturally"

Feeling Good!!

Today as part of this month's 'Honoring Creativity' I would like to deviate from the normal posts and take some time to write about someone who has displayed an awesome model of Honoring Creativity.

Timothy Adams Design of Grand Rapids Michigan is a metal artist who designs items from great sculptures to unique jewelry pendants. Their style brings life to metal that is hip, unique and truly amazing. A must for any modern household and elegant neckline!

Since joining a then little known on-line marketplace called Etsy - whose focus is to provide a place for anyone to make a living making all things handmade, uniting both sellers and buyers. Timothy Adams Design has managed to sell over 805 pieces of metal art.

That alone would keep anyone busy - but Timothy Adams Designs doesn't stop there!!! They have made it a mission to help other un-discovered artists within the community to become seen. They do so in a variety of ways from keeping several blogs and show-casing other sellers on their personal space, to creating blogs specifically designed to allow other sellers to be searched and found all for FREE to those who wish to take them up on their generous offer.

They also have founded and produced a monthly promotional tool "The Handbook To Handmade" a "professional bookstore quality book" that for a modest price an artist can be included to showcase their talents. It is going into it's seventh edition.

Whenever I have been in the forums Timothy Adams Designs has always been very helpful to other Artists who have had questions or needed guidance in becoming the best that they can be.

So today, I would like to celebrate Timothy Adams Designs who not only Honors the Creativity within themselves by creating outstanding Artistic Metals - but who consistently and constantly helps others to find their creativity, and who lends a helping hand to help others 'Honor their Creativity'. THANK YOU!!

Below is just a sample of Timothy Adams Designs work.

Please join me in celebrating someone who Honors Creativity by clicking on any of the pictures or links below to visit their site.

How To Honor Your Creativity

In this month's Beauty Secret we talked about Honoring and being Loyal to our Creativity! Today I would like to expand on how we might HONOR our creativity.

Honoring our creations can be as simple as appreciating how our item looks, or it can be complex as loving our items even when it seems like no one else does.

It means to me that we charge fairly for our work and that we include in our prices our precious time, knowledge and talent. Tweaking our prices can and should acceptable to us. But under no circumstances should we de-value our creations just to make a dollar or to get people to buy from us instead of our competition.

Not that competition is a 'evil' thing. Healthy competition can gently nudge us to greater and better creativity. Un-healthy competition is when we let jealousy take over because it SEEMS that someone else is getting more business at the time.

I can not STRESS ENOUGH - that there is PLENTY to go around :) Really!!! Business like everything else comes in cycles. You just have to find that rhythm and learn the cycles and make them work for you!!

Honoring our creations ultimately means that we honor ourselves - because after all that is where all our creations come from.....our TRUE selves!!

Thanks for stopping by and here is to HONORING all everyone's creations!! :D

Feel free to leave a comment on your ideas on what is means to honor your creativity!!